Our favorite aspect of being a prosecutor was the investigation phase. Snooping is fun. Figuring out what the crook did and how he did it made us feel like Columbo or Mannix. (Surely those references are lost on anyone under 50. Maybe we should have alluded to Poker Face.) Surveillance, telephone records, and bank accounts often told quite a revealing story. Once we had the evidence, proving it up was relatively easy. There is a reason why most criminal defendants plead guilty. There is a reason why fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants get acquitted.

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